"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient, Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Dabigatran (Pradaxa) Danger During Ablation—Switch to Warfarin

Dabigatran Danger During Ablation

by Steve S. Ryan, PhD

In an important multi-center study, A-Fib ablation patients on dabigatran (Pradaxa) were compared to ablation patients on warfarin. The dabigatran group had a significantly higher major bleeding and total bleeding rate, and a higher “thromboembolic complications” (clots, strokes) in those who had persistent A-Fib than the warfarin group.

The researchers went even further and said that dabigatran “was confirmed as an independent predictor of bleeding or thromboembolic complications.”

Editor’s Comments: The researchers are basically saying that taking dabigatran before and during an ablation significantly raises your risk of developing bleeding problems and clots/stroke compared to warfarin. “Independent predictor” means there is a higher degree of certainty that taking dabigatran will lead to bleeding/stroke.

This is a very important finding for A-Fib patients. And this was no small, limited study. It enrolled 290 A-Fib patients at eight different high-volume centers in the US. The results were dramatically significant. Any A-Fib patient going in for an ablation needs to be aware of this research and act accordingly.

Consequences: Doctors are now weaning A-Fib patients off of dabigatran and on to warfarin before an ablation. If your doctor doesn’t do this, you should get a second opinion—even if your ablation is already scheduled.

In addition, this study raises much more serious red flags about dabigatran for all A-Fib patients, not just for those having an A-Fib ablation. Did the clinical trials of dabigatran miss something? If dabigatran has such bad effects during an ablation, does it have such bad effects in “normal” usage? Why does dabigatran have such bad effects during an ablation and not in “normal” usage? If you are taking dabigatran, you should pose these questions to your doctor. (Thanks of Carol Devenir for alerting us to this research and its importance.)

Disclaimer: the authors of this Web site are not medical doctors and are not affiliated with any medical school or organization. The information on this site is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Nothing contained in this service is intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment.